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BPA linked to obesity, diabetes

Though it hasn’t been linked to global warming – biosphenol A (BPA) has been connected to a litany of negative impacts on our health, from brain health, cancer and infertility, to an increased risk of food intolerances. Now research has tied the stuff to two of society’s biggest health threats—diabetes and obesity.

The Endocrine Society, the world’s oldest and largest organization devoted to research on hormones and the clinical practice of endocrinology, issued a scientific statement reviewing recent research about the possible effects of BPA and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). These chemicals mess with our health by mimicking, blocking or otherwise interfering with the body’s natural hormones. By hijacking the body’s chemical messengers, EDCs can alter the way cells develop and grow.

"The evidence is more definitive than ever before -- EDCs disrupt hormones in a manner that harms human health," Andrea C. Gore, Professor and Vacek Chair of Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the task force that developed the statement said in an Endocrine Society release. "Hundreds of studies are pointing to the same conclusion, whether they are long-term epidemiological studies in human, basic research in animals and cells, or research into groups of people with known occupational exposure to specific chemicals."

The statement’s authors urge authorities to work on ways to keep EDCs out of food, water and air. "Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during early development can have long-lasting, even permanent consequences," Endocrine Soceity member Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Liège in Belgium said in the release. "The science is clear and it's time for policymakers to take this wealth of evidence into account as they develop legislation."

The statement was presented during the International Conference on Chemicals Management in Geneva, Switzerland. It was noted on sciencedaily.com.